Pre-Application Advice Procedure · like planning advice in order to inform your proposals further...
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Pre-Application Advice Procedure
January 2019
Strategic Place Planning
2 Strategic Place Planning – January 2019
Contents
Pre- Application Advice Procedure
Page
3
What is pre-application advice? 3
When should pre-application advice take place? 4
Why is pre-application advice important? 4
Engaging and consulting with communities 4
Property Development Process Chart 5
How to arrange for pre-application advice 6
The form of pre-application advice 7
Appendices
Appendix 1 Pre-Application Advice Request Form 10
Appendix 2 Pre-Application Written Response 12
Appendix 3 Aberdeen City Council Scheme of Delegation 16
Appendix 4 Aberdeen City Council Pre-application Forum Protocol 19
Appendix 5 Proposal of Application Notice [POAN] Procedure 21
03000 200292
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Pre-Application Advice Procedure
Aberdeen City Council’s primary planning objective is to ensure that all
proposals for development are of a high quality, are directed by the
policies and proposals in the Aberdeen Local Development Plan and
are progressed and determined in an efficient manner.
As Aberdeen has experienced an unparalleled period of growth over
the previous decades, and evolves to accommodate ever changing
development needs, Council Officers use pre-application advice to
front-load advice on detailed planning matters at an early stage in the
development process.
In order to continue to be proactive we advocate the value of pre-
application advice in the following managed procedure.
What is pre-application advice?
Pre-application advice is a non-statutory procedure provided by
Aberdeen City Council Strategic Place Planning .
It can be a good idea to liaise with the Planning Service before you
submit a planning application for determination. The need for pre-
application advice will not be necessary in every instance and we will
take a proportionate approach based upon the nature and scope of the
proposal.
Pre-application advice enables prospective proposals to be tabled in
complete confidence*2. They ensure an initial assessment can be made
by officers in order to share known perspectives and objectives before
costly commitments in terms of time, resources and assets are made.
To be productive pre-application advice needs commitment from all parties with the understanding that all our resources are finite.
*1 - ‘Development’ as generally defined by the Town and Country Planning
(Scotland) Act 1997 ‘is the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other
operations in, on, over or under land, or the making of any material change in the
use of any buildings or other land.
*2 - Pre-application advice may be subject to third party requests made under the
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
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When should pre-application advice take place?
Pre-application advice should take place when you have developed and evaluated your proposals in
accordance with the Development Plan and designed them to a stage that you are content with but would
like planning advice in order to inform your proposals further prior to submitting a planning application [Figure
1].
Why is pre-application advice important?
• In order to be beneficial pre-application
advice requires a commitment from all
involved to positively engage in the process
and for a degree of investment to be made
in terms of time and resources. Pre-
application advice is given without
prejudice and on the basis of the
information provided to the planning
authority for evaluation.
• The pre-application advice should be of
considerable benefit before key investment
or funding decisions are taken and where
planning officers can co-ordinate early
engagement with other Council sections to
scope out likely events and measures that
must be taken in the assessment of a
forthcoming planning application.
• Early engagement with the Planning
Service should inform your proposals and if
the advice is followed should lead to high
quality development being granted timely
approval because the parameters, and
likely issues, will be scoped out before the
application is made.
• Any pre-application advice given by the
Planning Service cannot be a guarantee of
granting consent. Statutory consultations
require to be carried out to inform the
evaluation process prior to determination.
The Council’s elected members do not take part in
the pre-application advice procedure but there is the
opportunity for applicants with major applications to
present to the Pre-application Forum of the Planning
Development Management Committee (Appendix 4)
in advance of submitting a planning application.
Engaging and consulting with
communities
Pre-application advice with the Planning Service can
take place before, during and after engagement with
communities, formally constituted groups and
interested parties.
The formal procedures of a Proposal of Application
Notice (POAN) (Appendix 5) for all Major and
National planning applications (Appendix 3)
requires the developer/agent to be able to conduct
engagement and pre-application consultation with
local communities in order to hear opinions on
development proposals. The POAN process
requires applicants to consult with local community
councils and interested parties at least 12 weeks
before a planning application is submitted in order
that local knowledge and opinions shape proposals.
The Planning Service can advise on the appropriate
methods and scope of community engagement, but
it does not take part in any POAN engagements
undertaken. This link provides a list of constituted
community groups in Aberdeen.
*3 - Planning applications will be determined by one of three
routes, 1) delegated powers, 2) by the Planning Development
Management Committee which comprises elected members,
or 3) full Council (all elected members) depending upon the
application. (See Appendix 3 for Aberdeen City Council
Schemes of Delegation).
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Figure 1 - Property Development Process
2) Pre-purchase stage
5) Purchase
6) Planning and other approvals
7) Building Warrant submission
8) Pre-construction
9) Construction
10) Completion
1) Why do you want to develop?
• Scoping project viability
• Finance pre-approval in place
3) Concept stage
4) Feasibility testing
• Property/land purchase
Pre
Ap
p S
tag
e
• Detailed plans, design and access statements
prepared
• Submission for planning and other approvals
• Detailed plans prepared
• Submission for building warrant approval
• Finances in place
• Tender process to contractors
• Return of tenders and contractor selection
• Agreement of contractor terms
• Marketing scope
• On-site construction
• Phased payment to contractor
• Marketing and sales
• Construction complete
• Completion Certificates applied for and issued
• Sales
• Project refinanced
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How to arrange pre-application advice
In order to formally manage the process in terms of staff time, skills, experience and achieve a managed
and consistent approach we have provided the following procedure.
What you should do: Step 1 The statutory determination
of a planning application is made by an
evaluation of the development proposal in
accordance with policies of the
Development Plan and its supplementary
guidance and technical advice notes. The
formal planning background provided by
these documents is sufficient to allow
proposals to be developed to a stage
where we can have constructive pre-
application discussion on site specific
proposals.
All prospective applicants are expected to
have knowledge of the Development Plan
documents which will be used in
assessing development proposals.
Please Note:
• All requests for pre-application advice must be
made by completing the Request Form.
• The Request Form will include a written
description statement of your proposal including
a location plan, a scaled layout plan (using
typically 1:500/1:200/1:100) and noting particular
areas of interest, as well as the proposed uses,
access, indication of massing, building forms,
materials etc.
• File size is restricted to 5mb.
In addition you may be required to:
• Enable site access / site visit
• Advise on discussion with neighbours or other parties.
• Provide additional information requested in the response.
• Plan for an adequate period of time within your development programme to allow pre-application written response to be issued and/or meetings to take place.
What we will do:
Step 1 Acknowledgement of receipt of the
completed Request Form will be given by a
nominated Lead Planning Officer within 5
working days, and this will confirm the route
(written statement and/or pre- application
meetings) that the pre-application advice will
take.
Step 2 The Lead Planning Officer will provide you
with a unique reference number that will be
recorded against the address of the proposal
and also will suggest dates for pre-
application meeting(s) if necessary.
Step 3 The Lead Planning Officer will, for the
comprehensive evaluation of a proposal, co-
ordinate relevant Council staff, review
relevant planning history, where necessary
compile a list of relevant interest groups that
you may wish to engage with, identify
information required to support a planning
application and provide guidance on routes
for determination, committee timetables etc.
The written statement will be provided within
20 working days, however, where a longer
period for response is required we will inform
you why there is to be a delay and when you
can expect the written statement.
Step 4 We will ensure that pre-application
discussions remain confidential and will not
be shared outwith the relevant services
within Aberdeen City Council. However, pre-
application advice records may be subject to
the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act
2002 (FOI) request from a third party.
Please note:
• No pre-application advice for specific proposals
will be given over the telephone.
• Aberdeen City Council acknowledges that there
may be limitations on the pre-application advice
we can offer in respect of specialised
development proposals.
• Aberdeen City Council maintains a right not to
continue pre-application advice which is not
entered into cordially or objectively.
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The form of pre-application advice
The pre-application advice can take the form of either a written evaluation or a short series of meetings
accompanied by a minuted statement, or a combination of both.
Written evaluation
• We anticipate that many requests for pre-
application advice can be dealt with by the
provision of a written evaluation. The
written evaluation will not compromise any
decision made by Aberdeen City Council
and its Committees and the advice is not
legally binding on the determination of a
forthcoming planning application.
• Where the Planning Service have agreed
to provide a written evaluation, which will
represent a planning consensus, we will do
so within 20 working days of receipt of the
pre-application request. Where
circumstances would dictate that a longer
response period is necessary then the
Lead Planning Officer will advise when a
response will be issued.
• The written evaluation will be prepared by
the Lead Planning Officer and reviewed by
a Development Management Team Leader
and Manager prior to being issued.
Meetings
• Where a pre-application meeting is agreed
to (and likely to be restricted to major apps)
no more than 3 meetings should be
necessary and the length of each meeting
will be based on the complexity of the
proposal. Officers can, and should, decline
to meet thereafter unless exceptional
circumstances prevail.
• For a second and any subsequent meeting
a written request (via email)*6 must be made
stating the reasons for second meeting. The
Lead Planning Officer will decide on the
need for a second and any subsequent
meeting.
• In order for the process to be as efficient as
possible the agent/applicant/enquirer will
forward an agenda to the Lead Planning
Officer to be agreed at least 3 working days
in advance of the planned meeting.
• Within 5 working days following the meeting
the agent/applicant/enquirer will prepare a
draft note of the meeting and issue to the
Lead Planning Officer for ratification prior to
distribution as the formal record of the
meeting.
• The meetings will normally be held in
Marischal College and will likely require a
lead-in period of ten working days in order
to align key officers.
• At the end of the meetings process the Lead
Planning Officer will compile the written
evaluation for review by a Development
Management Team Leader and Manager
prior to being issued.
• For sites that are considered exceptional*7
pre-application meetings can take the form
of design workshops where a strong focus
will be based upon a critical review of the
site evaluation, its context, the architectural
vision and landscaping etc. We aim to
maintain the role of being critically objective
with shared reasoned justification.
*6 - Contact details: email [email protected] or
tel 03000 200292 or 01224 523470
*7 - Exceptional sites are likely to be larger scale, have a
townscape prominence or a strong urban design potential and
have the possibility to impact on the surrounding communities
and civic image of Aberdeen.
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Appendices
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Appendix 1 : Pre-Application Advice Request Form
Strategic Place Planning Aberdeen City Council Business Hub 4 Ground Floor North Marischal College Broad Street Aberdeen AB10 1AB
Tel 01224 523470 Fax 01224 523180 Minicom 01224 522381 www.aberdeencity.gov.uk
Pre-Application Advice Request Form
Please familiarise yourself with the Aberdeen City Council pre-application protocol prior to completing this form. If you have a query relating to your pre-application enquiry please contact us at the above e-mail address or by telephone on 01224 523470.
Please return by email to [email protected] or by post to the above address.
1 Your details
Applicant / Agent name:
Are you agent?
an applicant or an
Address:
Contact Tel Email:
No:
2 Location of proposed development (Please provide the address of the development site or building. If there is no known address, please identify/describe the location of the development site)
The existing (or last known) use (Please confirm the existing or last known use of the site)
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5 The sought form of pre-application advice (Please confirm how you wish to receive your pre-application advice. Please complete section 7 if you are requesting a meeting)
A Written Statement via Email A Written Statement via Post Via Meeting(s)
6 Plans and supporting information checklist (Please confirm which of the following information has been submitted with this pre-application request. At a minimum, a location plan, scaled layout plan (using typically 1:500/1:200/1:100) are required. Please see the pre-application protocol for further details)
Location plan
Scaled layout plan (using typically 1:500/1:200/1:100)
Elevation drawings
Sketches of the proposal
Trees on the site
Existing and proposed parking on site
Draft design statement
Photographs
Print Name
Date:
Description of proposal (Please provide an accurate, detailed written description statement of
the proposed development)
Other information
Please provide any other information that you would like us to take into account when considering your proposal/request for advice. Please highlight here if any information should be exempt from a Freedom of Information Request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
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Appendix 2 : Pre-Application Written Response Template
Strategic Place Planning
Aberdeen City Council
Business Hub 4
Ground Floor North
Marischal College
Broad Street
Aberdeen
AB10 1AB
Tel 01224 523470
Fax 01224 523180
Minicom 01224 522381
DX 529452, Aberdeen 9
www.aberdeencity.gov.uk
Dear [APPLICANT],
Pre-Application Written Response
[REF NO.]:
[Proposal], [Address]
This is a formal evaluation by the allocated case officer. It does not compromise any decision made by Aberdeen City Council and its committees and is not legally binding on the determination of any forthcoming planning application. It may be subjected to a freedom of information request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Aberdeen City Council will determine what, if any, information will be exempt from such a request, in accordance with this legislation. In order for us to improve the service, we would appreciate feedback of your experience of this service by completing our short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PlanningDM Yours faithfully [OFFICER] [POSITION]
Our Ref: Your Ref Contact Email Direct Dial
GALE BEATTIE CHIEF OFFICER STRATEGIC PLACE PLANNING
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Community Council
Ward
Allocated officer:
Site Description
Relevant Planning History
Description of Proposal
Relevant Planning Policies
Conclusion
Other Technical Issues (Consultees etc)
Matters relating to Conservation
Design and Scale
The Principle of the Proposal
Appraisal of Proposal
GALE BEATTIE CHIEF OFFICER STRATEGIC PLACE PLANNING
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Disclaimer This written evaluation provides a written response to the above pre-application enquiry by the allocated case officer. It does not compromise any decision made by Aberdeen City Council and its Committees and the advice is not legally binding on the determination of a forthcoming planning application. The information provided in this response may be subjected to a Freedom of Information Request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. It will be for Aberdeen City Council to determine what, if any, information will be or not be exempt from such a request, in accordance with this legislation.
Further Information Required to assess a planning application of this proposal
Document/Plan Reason information is required
Internal Consultees Required to assess this Proposal
Consultee Reason Consultee is required
Further Comments
It is recommended that consultees and the local Community Council are engaged prior to the submission of an application. This will assist in identifying technical issues and encourage improved trust and more open, positive working relationships between interested parties from the earliest
stages of the planning process. It will also provide, where possible, an early opportunity for community views to be reflected. This is intended to improve the quality of the proposal and allow applicants the opportunity to amend their emerging proposals to accommodate community and relevant consultee opinion.
The planning authority encourage the following consultees to be engaged with prior to the submission of an application: [TEXT WILL BE DELETED IF NECESSARY]
[FOLLOWING TEXT WILL BE DELETED FOR ENQUIRIES WHERE NO MEETING HAS TAKEN PLACE]
Meeting
Date of Meeting
Time of Meeting
Attendees
Name Name of organisation
GALE BEATTIE CHIEF OFFICER STRATEGIC PLACE PLANNING
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Points discussed at meeting
Is the principle of development acceptable?
Is the proposal a major/national development?
Design considerations
Impact on the character and appearance of the surrounding area
Impact on listed buildings/ conservation area
Roads concerns
Environmental health considerations
Flooding considerations
Contaminated Land Considerations
Developer obligations
Affordable Housing
Trees, Protected Species, and Natural Heritage
[OTHER CONSIDERATIONS TO BE ADDED]
Summary of Issues Discussed at Meeting
[FOLLOWING TEXT WILL BE DELETED FOR ENQUIRIES WHERE NO MEETING HAS TAKEN PLACE]
Subsequent Meeting
Date of Meeting
Time of Meeting
Attendees
Name Name of organisation
GALE BEATTIE CHIEF OFFICER STRATEGIC PLACE PLANNING
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Appendix 3
1.1 Local Development
1.1.1 Definition of Local Development
All development as defined in the Town
and Country Planning (Hierarchy of
Developments)(Scotland) Regulations 2009,
Regulation 2 (2) as all development which is
neither national nor major.
1.1.2 Scheme of Delegation for dealing with
planning applications for Local
Developments [Town and Country
Planning (Scotland) Act 1997]
The Chief Officer (Strategic Place Planning) of or an officer of the Council appointed by him/her (referred to as the “Appointed Officer”) - currently the Development Management Manager - has the power –
1. To determine applications for –
a) planning permission (including planning permission in principle) and
b) applications for the approval of consent, agreement or approval required by a condition imposed on a grant of planning permission or planning permission in principle except where that application –
i. has been made by or on behalf of;
o an elected member of the Council or a member of staff employed within the Strategic Place Planning function of the planning authority; or o the Chief Executive or any other member of the Corporate Management Team of the planning authority, all as determined from the contents of the application form; ii. requires to be the subject of formal notification to the Scottish Ministers as defined in the Schedule to the Town and Country Planning (Notification of Applications) (Scotland) Direction 2009 (or any other Scottish Government Direction); iii. is an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) application for which a validated EIA has been submitted; iv. is being recommended for approval and has been the subject of formal timeous
objection by the local Community Council within whose area the application site falls; v. is being recommended for approval and has been the subject of six or more timeous letters of representation (following advertisement and/or notification) that express objection or concern about the proposal; vi. is being recommended for approval and has been the subject of formal objection from the Roads Authority or the Council’s Environmental Health service; vii. is being recommended for approval and is considered by the Appointed Officer to be contrary to the adopted development plan strategy. vii. is being recommended for approval and has been the subject of formal objection from the Roads Authority or the Council’s Environmental Health service;
2. Under the terms of section 75 of the Town and
Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended) and section 69 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, and following consultation with the Chief Officer (Governance)- a) in relation to applications for major and local developments as defined by the Hierarchy of Development (Scotland) Regulations 2009 to – i. negotiate and conclude legal agreements related to planning and other related applications decided by the Appointed Officer;
ii. negotiate and conclude legal agreements related to planning and other related applications decided by Full Council, committee or Scottish Ministers provided the Appointed Officer considers such agreements to be in accordance with the original decision on the application;
iii. determine applications for Modifications or Discharge of Planning Obligations under section 75A in relation to planning applications determined by the Appointed Officer.
b) in relation to applications for local developments as defined by the Hierarchy of Development (Scotland) Regulations 2009 to determine applications for modifications or discharge of legal agreements under section 75A in relation to planning applications determined by Full Council, Committee or Scottish Ministers as applicable, provided the Appointed Officer considers the modification or discharge to be in accordance with the original
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decision on the application; c) to participate in the promotion and development of Good Neighbour Agreements under section 75D.
3. To determine, following consultation with the Chief Officer (Governance), the Convener of the Planning Development Management Committee and the Business Manager, whether to appeal a decision of the Scottish Ministers which overturned or modified a decision of the committee or Full Council and thereafter, if applicable, to instruct the making of such an appeal.
4. To determine planning and other applications given a willingness to approve at the Planning Development Management Committee and for which Section 75 Agreements are not completed or developer obligations are not paid within 6 months of the date on which the committee agreed a willingness to approve.
5. To determine applications for Listed Building
consent and Conservation Area consent subject to any of the applicable exceptions contained in paragraph 1 above and provided that the Scottish Ministers, if notified, have either made no observations or where observations have been made which can competently be made the subject of appropriate planning conditions, to determine these applications with those conditions attached.
6. To determine Hazardous Substance Consent
applications under the Planning (Hazardous Substances) (Scotland) Act 1997 and the Town and Country Planning (Hazardous Substances) (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
7. To determine whether planning or other
applications that have been lodged or pre-application proposals require planning or other consent.
8. To determine requests for non-material
variation of major and national planning applications in terms of section 64 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended).
9. To issue planning consents where Full Council
or any relevant committee of the Council are minded to grant a development and the Scottish Ministers, having been notified, indicate no objections or intention to intervene, or the period for so indicating has expired.
10.To deal with Proposal of Application Notices in
terms of section 35B of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended) and Pre-Application Screening Notices in terms of section 35A(3) of that Act.
11.To determine applications for advertisement
consent. 12.To determine, in accordance with the applicable
Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, whether or not a particular planning application requires to be supported by an Environmental Statement (Screening Opinion) and the scope of any such Statement (Scoping Opinion).
13.To determine applications related to Prior
Notification or Prior Approval made under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992 Schedule 1 for the following – a) Part 1A - Class 6G: Free standing wind turbine within the residential curtilage; b) Part 1B - Class 6K and 6L: Biomass facilities on agricultural or forestry land; c) Part 6 - Class 18: Agricultural buildings; d) Part 7 - Class 22: Forestry buildings and operations; e) Part 13 - Class 39 and 40: Public gas transporters and electricity undertakings; f) Part 20 - Class 67: Development by electronic communications code operators; g) Part 23 - Class 70: Demolition of buildings; h) Part 24 - Class 71: Toll road facilities; i) Any other types of prior notification or prior approval that might come forward in future amendments to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992 Schedule 1.
14.To determine Certificates of Lawfulness under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended) where, in the opinion of the Appointed Officer, there is no reasonable doubt that the use or development is or would be:- a) lawful without further planning approval; or b) unlawful
15.To give, serve, issue and sign the following notices, all under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended), following consultation with the Chief Officer - Governance:
a) Notices under section 33A requiring an Application for Planning Permission for a Development already carried out; b) Planning Contravention Notices under section 125;
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c) Stop Notices under section 140; d) Temporary Stop Notices under section 144A; e) Breach of Condition Notices under section 145; f) Fixed Penalty Notices under section 136A; g) Completion Notices under section 61; h) Notices in terms of Land Adversely Affecting the Amenity of Neighbourhood under section 179
16. To instruct applications for interdict in terms of
section 146 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended) in order to restrain breaches of planning control.
17.To develop and maintain a Development
Management Charter and Enforcement Charter under section 158A of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended).
18.To take, following consultation with the Chief
Officer - Governance, any necessary enforcement action in respect of unauthorised advertisements, poster panels (hoardings) or fly posting.
19.To make an order to revoke or modify planning
permission where any owner, lessee or occupier of land affected, or such other person who in the opinion of the Appointed Person will be affected by the order, have notified the planning authority in writing that they do not object to the order under sections 65 and 67 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended).
20.To determine all applications for Certificates of
Appropriate Alternative Development under section 25 of the Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1963.
21.To issue a deemed refusal under section 39 of
the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended) where, in the opinion of the Appointed Officer, a similar application has been refused within the previous 2 years and there has been no significant change in the relevant parts of the development plan or other material considerations since the last decision.
22.To make observations on behalf of the planning
authority on routine proposals by statutory undertakers.
23.To make observations on behalf of the planning
authority to consultation requests from Aberdeenshire Council in respect of applications for development in Aberdeenshire.
24.To make observations on behalf of the planning
authority on consultation requests from Marine Scotland in respect of development applications.
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1.2 Major Development
1.2.1 Definition of Major Development (2009
update)
Major development is defined in the
Town and Country Planning (Hierarchy of
Developments) (Scotland) Regulations 2009
(link) as:
• any Schedule 1 development as defined
in Schedule 1 of the Environmental Impact
Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 2011
(other than exempt development within
the meaning of those regulations);
• housing development where the number
of units is or exceeds 50 or the site area is
or exceeds 2 hectares.;
• business (office; research and
development; industrial processes; or
storage and distribution) development
where the follow area is or exceeds
10,000 square metres or the site area is or
exceeds 2 hectares;
• electricity generation stations where the
capacity of the generating station is or
exceeds 20 megawatts;
• waste management facilities where the
capacity of the facility is or exceeds
25,000 tonnes per annum or sludge
treatment facilities with a capacity to treat
more than 50 tonnes (wet weight) of
residual sludge;
• road, railway, tramway, waterway,
aqueduct or pipeline development
exceeding 8 kilometres;
• mineral extraction where the area of the
site is or exceeds 2 hectares; or
• any other development not falling wholly
within any single class of development
above where the gross floor area is or
exceeds 5,000 square metres or the site
area is or exceeds 2 hectares.
1.3 National Development
1.3.1 Definition of National Development
Any development designated in the National Planning Framework.
1.3.2 Determination of National Development
National apps must be determined by full council under section 14 of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006, which amends both the Local
Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.
20 Strategic Place Planning – January 2019
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Appendix 4
Aberdeen City Council Pre-application
Forum Protocol (20 October 2014)
1. Meetings of the Pre-Application Forum will be
held in open public session to enable discussion
of all national and major development
proposals.
2. Forums will be held as soon as possible after the
submission of a Proposal of Application Notice
(POAN) for all national and major development
proposals and, in all cases, prior to the lodging
of any associated planning application (this
allows a period of 12 weeks following
submission of the POAN).
3. The members of the Planning Development
Management Committee will constitute the
members of the Pre-Application Forum.
4. Ward Members for the Ward in which a specific
pre-application proposal under discussion is
located will be invited to the Forum but will
be allowed to participate in the Forum only in
relation to the specific pre-application proposal
in their ward.
5. The relevant Community Council for the
prospective development proposal(s) to be
discussed will be informed of the date and time
of the Pre-Application Forum by Committee
Services so that they have the opportunity to
attend but will not be permitted to participate in
the business of the Forum.
6. If a Forum is required it will take place after
formal business of the Planning Development
Management Committee is concluded – this will
normally be 2 pm on the same day as
the Planning Development Management
Committee. The Forum will be separate from the
Committee to emphasise the clear differences in
status, process and procedure between the 2
meetings.
7. The case officer for the pre-application proposal
will produce a very brief report (maximum 2-3
sides of A4 - template below) for the Forum
outlining the proposal and identifying the main
planning policies, material considerations and
issues associated with it and the key information
that will be required to accompany any
application. The report will not include any
evaluation of the planning merits of the
proposal.
8. Agents/applicants will be contacted by the
Committee Services immediately on receipt of a
POAN (or before this date if notified by planning
officers of the week that a forthcoming POAN is
likely to be submitted) - and offered the
opportunity to give a 10 minute presentation of
their development proposal to the members of the
Forum. There will be an opportunity for
Councillors to discuss these with the
agents/applicants, to ask questions and indicate
key issues they would like the applicants to
consider and address in their eventual
application(s). If an applicant/agent does not
respond to this offer within 10 days, or declines
the opportunity to give such a presentation, then
their proposal will be considered by the Forum
without a developer/ applicant presentation.
Committee Services will notify the case officer of
the applicant’s response.
9. Case officers (or a Team Leader/Manager/ Head
of Planning) and, if considered necessary, other
appropriate officers e.g. Roads Projects Officers,
will be present at the Forum. The case officer, will
give a very brief presentation outlining the main
planning considerations, policies and, if relevant
and useful, procedures and supporting
information that will have to be submitted. Officers
will be available to answer questions on factual
matters related to the proposal but will not give
any opinion on, or evaluation of, the merits of the
application as a whole. 10. Members, either individually or collectively, can
express concerns about aspects of any proposal
that comes before the Forum but (to comply with
the terms of the Code of Conduct) should not
express a final settled view of any sort on whether
any such proposal is acceptable or unacceptable.
11. A minute of the meeting will be produced by
Committee Services and made publicly available
on the Council website.
22 Strategic Place Planning – January 2019
12. Members should be aware that the proposal
being discussed may be determined under
delegated powers and may not come back
before them for determination. Any report of
handling on an application pursuant to a
proposal considered by the pre-application
forum will contain a very brief synopsis of the
comments made by the Forum but the report
itself will be based on an independent
professional evaluation of the application by
planning officers.
13. Training sessions will be offered to
Councillors to assist them in adjusting to their
new role in relation to pre-application
consultation and its relationship with the
Code of Conduct.
14. The applicant/agent will expected to report
on how they have, or have not, been able to
address any issues raised by the pre-
application forum in the Pre-Application
Consultation Report that is required to be
submitted with any subsequent planning
application.
Strategic Place Planning – January 2019
23
Appendix 5
Proposal of Application Notice Procedure
(POAN)
With the exception of Section 42 applications, all
applications for planning permission or for planning
permission in principle under regulations 9 to 11 for
national and for major developments require pre-
application consultation between developers and
communities.
Applications for such developments will need to
demonstrate compliance with the legislative
requirements for pre-application consultation. The
National Planning Framework and the Town and
Country Planning (Hierarchy of Developments)
(Scotland) Regulations 2009 (SSI 2009/51) (see
Appendix 1) provide clarity about the range of
development to be treated as national or major
respectively.
A screening process is available whereby prospective
applicants can seek the planning authority’s view on
whether their proposal is a national development or a
major development and therefore requires PAC. The
Pre-Application Screening Notice form is available
here:
https://www.eplanning.scot/ePlanningClient/
CustomPages/PaperForm.aspx?formID=28
Where pre-application consultation is required, the
prospective applicant must provide to the planning
authority a ‘proposal of application notice’ at least 12
weeks prior to the submission of an application for
planning permission. That notice must include the
following information:
i. a description in general terms of the
development to be carried out;
ii. the postal address of the development site, if
it has one;
iii. a plan showing the outline of the site at which
the development is to be carried out and sufficient
to identify the site;
iv. detail as to how the prospective applicant
may be contacted and corresponded with; and
v. an account of what consultation the
prospective applicant proposes to undertake,
when such consultation is to take place, with
whom and what form it will take. This should
include steps in addition to the statutory minimum
for consultation.
Element v) will assist the planning authority in
responding to the proposal of application notice with
any additional notification and consultation
requirements.
The ‘description in general terms’ should outline the
proposal’s characteristics, and the identification of its
category (for example, major development). While
there is scope for proposals to alter between pre-
application consultation and an application being
submitted, any subsequent application needs to be
recognisably linked to what was described in the
proposal of application notice. A very detailed or
narrow descriptive content in the proposal of
application notice means that relatively minor
changes could trigger the need to repeat pre-
application consultation.
Descriptions should accurately and adequately
convey to the layman what the development involves.
Describing a proposal for superstore with car park and
petrol station as a “retail development” or a wind farm
as “renewables development” with “ancillary
development” is unlikely to do that.
It is for the planning authority (and ultimately the
courts) to satisfy themselves that an application is
sufficiently linked to the proposals consulted upon at
the pre-application stage. An application involving
land not included in the outline of the site in the
proposal of application notice may cast doubt over
such a link. Prospective applicants should try to
ensure the site identified in Pre-Application
Consultation covers the likely options for the final
proposal.
The submission of the proposal of application notice
starts the Pre-Application Consultation processing
clock. After a minimum of 12 weeks, having carried
out the statutory requirements, and any additional
requirements specified by the planning authority, an
applicant can submit the application along with the
required written PAC report. Information in relation to
the proposal of application notice must be placed on
the list of applications (see paragraphs 4.36 – 4.49).
There is no statutory maximum length of time between
carrying out PAC and submitting the related planning
application.
24 Strategic Place Planning – January 2019
The prospective applicant must consult every
community council any part of whose area is within
or adjoins the land on which the proposed
development is situated. This may include
community councils in a neighbouring planning
authority. The prospective applicant must also serve
on these community councils the proposal of
application notice.
The Proposal of Application Notice form is available
here:
https://www.eplanning.scot/ePlanningClient/
CustomPages/PaperForm.aspx?formID=29
Pre-application consultation activity must
incorporate the following as a minimum.
Consultation with community councils
The prospective applicant must consult every
community council any part of whose area is within
or adjoins the land on which the proposed
development is situated. This may include
community councils in a neighbouring planning
authority. The prospective applicant must also serve
on these community councils the proposal of
application notice.
The public event The prospective applicant is required to hold at least
one event for members of the public where they can
make comments to the prospective applicant on the
proposals. Notice of this ‘public event’ must be
published at least 7 days in advance in a newspaper
circulating in the locality of the proposed
development. 2.20 The notice for the public event
must include:
• a description of the proposed development
and its location;
• details as to where further information may
be obtained concerning the proposed
development;
• the date and place of the public event;
• a statement explaining how, and by when,
persons wishing to make comments to the
prospective applicant relating to the
proposal may do so; and
• a statement that comments made to the
prospective applicant are not
representations to the planning authority
and that there will be an opportunity to make
representations on any resultant application
to the planning authority.
Strategic Place Planning
Business Hub 4
Marischal College
Broad Street
Aberdeen
AB10 1AB
www.aberdeencity.gov.uk